Rectifier for automobile-generators.



L. R. TITCOMB.

RECTIFIER FOR AUTOMOBILE GENERATORS. APPLICATION. FILED 050.24, 1917'.

1,295,389. P atented Feb. 25, 191 9.

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WITNESSES INVE/YTOR 61 12 nmma Q2 Arm/Mrs LEE RAYMOND TITCOMB, 0F DANVILLE, ILLINOIS.

RECTIFIER FOR AUTOMOBILE-GENERATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

Application filed December 24, 1917. Serial No. 208,595.

T 0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. LEE R. TrrcoMB, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Danville in the county of Vermilion and State of Illinois, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Rectifiers for Automobile-Generators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements-1n rectifiers ior automobile generators, more particularly in rectifiers for the current generated by the Ford magneto, and it consists in the combinations, arrangements, and constructions herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a simple device which may be secured to the crank case of the engine and which will rec tify the alternating current or a portion thereof so that a storage battery may be charged. when the engine is running.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described which is simple in design and construction and cheap to manufacture, easy of application to cars of existing types and which is not liable to get out of order.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming-part of this application, in which- Fi 'ure 1 is a sectional view through the rectifier and the commutator or distributinr device. i

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of a portion of the rectifier. 1

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the casingof the rectifier and c Fig. 4; is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement or the electric; circuit.

In carrying out my invention I-malre use on the Ford machine. In Fig. 1, the crank case is shown at l, and the commutator shaft at'2. At 3 I have shown a sleeve which is slightly difierent from the sleeve now in common use, in that it is provided with an integral cylindrical stub shaft 4 which terminates in a square head 5. The sleeve 3 is secured to the commutator shaft 2 by means of a set screw 6 or other suitable fastening I member and bears the contact roller 7 which engages contacts carried by an insulatingring 7* on the interior of the commutator cap 8, in the well known manner. It will be understood that the contacts which are engaged by the roller 7 are connected with the various coils as common in the case of a multi-cylindered engine.

The commutator cap 8 has a lug 8* by means of which the cap may be rotated through the usual connection to the spark lever, not shown, and is similar to the cap in use on the Ford car, except that it has a central opening 9, through which the sleeve 10, of the casing 11, of the rectifier extends. This casing as will be observed from Fig. 3, is circular in shape and is supported by arms '12 which are secured to the crank case by bolts 13, these boltsbeing those which are at present on the machine so that extra fastening devices are not necessary. The casing 11 is thus rigidly. held in position. A spring 14 bears at one end on a washer 15 disposed adjacent to the commutator cap while' the other end of the spring bears on' the casing 11.

W ithin the casing is the rectifier proper. It consists of a shaft 16 having a rectangular opening arranged to receive the squaredhead 5 oi'the stub shaft 4-. An integral plate 17 is provided with a series of teeth or sections 17* which extend laterally as shown in Figs. 1 and 2-. A second plate 18 is provided with teeth 18 which intermesh with the teeth 17, but which are insulated from them by means of suitable insulation. such as bakelite, this insulation-being shown at 19. As will be seen from the drawings the plates themselves are insulated so that neither a plate nor its teeth is in electrical contact with the adjacent plate and its teeth.

The ends of the teeth 1'2 are brought out 95,

full with the ends of the teeth 18.

The casing 11 is provided with screws or pins 20 which are arranged to enter L- of the commutator. shaft such as that used shaped slots 21 in a. cover portion 22 so as to hold said cover portion in position. The 10:;

at 23 is provided, one of these brushes bear- 105 ion; on one of the teeth. 17", and the other brush bearing on a tooth 18 as shown in. Fig. 4. .lioth oi these brushes are held in insulating holders whose particular c0n-- struction terms no part of the present inlie vention. A third brush 25 isdisposed cen- .trally with respect to the cover 22 and bears on the plate 18.

From the foregoing description and the various parts of the device, the operationthereof may be readily understood.

Referring now to Fig. 4, I have shown a generator at G. One of the collector rings is connected by means of a conductor 26 with the brush 25, the other collector ring being grounded in the ordinary mannerl The plate 17 of the rectifier is also grounded. The storage battery B is connected on one side with one contact 24: and on the other side with the contact 23. When the, engine is at rest, a movable contact member 27 is Withdrawn lfrom a contact 28 carried by the plate 18, but when the engine is in motion 'and the Wheel formed by the plates 17 and 18 is re volving then the contact 27 will move outwardly under centrifugal action and engage the contact 28, the brushes 23 and 24 being located at points not far distant receive only the impulses of current of one sign. Now these impulses come very rapidly and the resulting current is substantially continuous and this direct current is passed through the storage battery B and charges the latter. N ow, when the engine is at rest the contact 27 withdraws from the contact 28, since it is no longer under centrifugal action and hence the circuit of the magneto is broken. It is necessary to have some sort of a circuit breaker, since the battery may be discharged through the generator, While the device is idle, unless the circuit be broken.

The cover portion 22 is provided with an opening 29 through which the brushes 23 and 2% may be viewed,'the cover being turned to that position where the least sparking takes place. The set screws 20 are then tightened.

The device is easy to install on machines of the existing type, since the only change involved is in providing the ordinary commutator cap with a central opening and in sl'ibstituting for the ordinar sleeve 3, one provided with a stub shaft extension 4 In some cases it is desirable to prevent at alltimes the short circuiting of adjacent segn'ients of the rectifying wheel, and to this end the wheel may be so constructed that the insulation between adjacent teeth is of greater width than the Width of the brushes, so that the latter in passing from one segment to another are/for a moment resting on the insulation alone. This tends to prolong the life of the rectifying Wheel by eliminating the sparking at the point of contact between the brush and the segment.

I claim:

1. The combination of acommutater shaft, a sleeve on said shaft having a movable contact member, a stub shaft secured to said sleeve, a rectifier provided with a position, and a spring disposed between the casing of the rectifier and the commutator cap for holding the latter in position.

2. The combination of a commutator shaft, a sleeve on said shaft having a movable contact member, a stub shaft secured to said sleeve, a rectifier provided with a casing .having a sleeve arranged to fit over said stub shaft, a. comn'lutator cap provided with a central opening arranged to receive the sleeve of the rectifier, a rectifying wheel disposed within the casing of the rectifier and having connection with said stub shaft to rotate therewith, means for holding the casing of the rectifier in fixed position; a spring disposed between thecasing of the rectifier and the commutator cap for holding the latter in position, a cap for said rectifier casing, a brush carried by said cap and arranged to bear on ene of the plates of the rectifier, a pair of brushes carried by said cap for receiving the rectified current.

3. The combination of a con'nnutator shaft, a sleeve on said shaft having a mo able contact member, a stnbshaft secured to said sleeve, :1 rectifier provided with a casin having a sleeve arranged to fit over the said stub shaft, a commutator cap provided with a central opening arranged to receive the sleeve of the rectifier, a rectifying wheel disposed within the casing of the rectifier and having connection with said stub shaft to rotate therewith, meansfor holding the casing of the rectifier in fixed position, a spring disposed between the casing of the rectifier and the conninilator ca p for holding the latter in position, a cap for said rectifier casing, a brush carried by said cap and arranged to bear on one of the plates of therectificr, a pair of brushes carried by said cap for receiving the rectified current, a storage bat tery connected with said last named brushes and adapted to be charged by them, and means for breaking the circuit through said first named brush when the rectifying wheel is at rest.

'4. The combination of a commutatorshaft, a comn'iuta-tor cap having a central opening, a rigidly supported casing havmg a sleeve arranged to enter said central opening, a spring disposed between said casin and said cap for retaining the latter in posi tion. I

The combination of a commutator shaft, a commutator cap having a central opening, a rigidly supported casing having newest) v a sleeve arranged to enter said central open-- tion, and e rectifying wheel Within the case 5 ingoperatively connected With said comnn1- tator shaftto rotate therewith. e

6. The combination of a cominutator shaft, 11 commutator cap 'havinge central opening, a rigidl-y supported casing having 19 a sleeve arranged to enter said central opening, a s ring disposed between said'casing and sai cap for retaining the'latter in 'posi- ,tion, a rectifying Wheel Within the casing operativei-y connected With said commutator shaft to rotate therewith, and spring pressed brushes carried by the casing on the sideopposite the sleeve and arranged to engage the rectifying wheel.

LEE RAYMOND TITOUM B, 

